5th Quarterly Report: Integrated Brakna Recovery Initiative, April-June 2015

The project aims to improve agricultural production through training in various topics and fairs for small ruminants, livestock feed, farming equipment, and seeds. It also seeks to restore community assets through the beneficiaries' participation in Cash for Work, Cash Transfers, and Savings and Lending activities. During the April-June 2015 quarter, several activities were carried out in the 64 intervention villages. These included the certification of the first cohort of Field Agents, training of the 2nd group of master farmers in natural crop protection, and refresher training of beneficiaries in conservation agriculture themes. Additionally, cash distribution to 5,000 project beneficiary households was made in June 2015, with each household receiving MRO12,500 (about USD45). The project has made significant progress in raising households' awareness of animal health and care of small ruminants. Awareness sessions were held at the community level, reaching 694 new people, including 465 women and 229 men. This brings the total number of people affected by awareness sessions on animal health and breeding of small ruminants to 2,004, of whom 62% are women and 38% are men. The project has also made progress in training of "master farmers" in conservation agriculture techniques. The training of the 2nd cohort of master farmer trainers in natural crop protection techniques was provided by the iBRI project on April 23, 2015. Additionally, conservation agriculture awareness sessions were held, targeting beneficiaries who could not participate in earlier sessions. A total of 527 new people, including 336 women and 191 men, received messages on soil fertilization and restoration, bringing the total number of affected people to 2,640. The project has also made progress in raising households' awareness of post-harvest storage and techniques. Additional awareness sessions on storage techniques were organized in the beneficiary villages, affecting 595 more people (57% of women and 43% of men), who received messages on this theme. This brings the total number of trained people to 1,257. The project has also made progress in economic recovery and market systems. The distribution of cash transfer to all beneficiary households was made from June 12 to 22, 2015. Each of the 5,000 beneficiary households received MRO12,500 (about USD45), which will allow them to purchase much-needed food, livestock feed, seeds, and other agricultural input needs. The project has also made progress in microfinance. The second cohort of Field Agents received their first refresher training this quarter. Some modules on recording, disbursement, and cash book maintenance were reviewed with the secretaries, and more general modules were reviewed with the groups. How to fill in the groups' overall Data Collection Sheets (DCS) was also reviewed with the FAs for better quality of transmitted data. The certification of the first cohort of Field Agents was conducted by CRS and Caritas teams. Focus Group Discussions (FCDs) with 2 SILC groups of FAs noted group members' satisfaction with the delivered services and their FA's command and use of the SILC methodology. Individual interviews were also conducted with each FA to assess their knowledge of the methodology. Finally, a FA's portfolio analysis, which focused on the groups' results and financial performances (savings, loan, participation, dropout rate, yield, and participation in meetings), assessed and compared the FAs' performances based on their knowledge of the methodology. The project has made significant progress in achieving its objectives, with a total of 2,004 people affected by awareness sessions on animal health and breeding of small ruminants, 2,640 people affected by conservation agriculture awareness sessions, and 1,257 people affected by storage training. The distribution of cash transfer to all beneficiary households has also been made, with each household receiving MRO12,500 (about USD45).